95-675: Malinithan is an archaeological site containing the ruins of an early medieval period temple on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh . It is assumed to be built by the Chutia kings in the 13th-14th century. Kechai-Khaiti , a tribal goddess found among the Bodo-kachari groups or the Buddhist goddess Tara is considered to be the chief deity worshipped in
190-681: A Sanskritised approach to the language in his Asamiya Bhaxar Byakaran ("Grammar of the Assamese Language") (1859, 1873). Barua's approach was adopted by the Asamiya Bhasa Unnati Sadhini Sabha (1888, "Assamese Language Development Society") that emerged in Kolkata among Assamese students led by Lakshminath Bezbaroa . The Society published a periodical Jonaki and the period of its publication, Jonaki era , saw spirited negotiations on language standardisation. What emerged at
285-566: A deep gorge (the " Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon ") across the eastern extremity of the Himalayas with canyon walls that extend upward for 5,000 m (16,000 ft) and more on each side. During that stretch, the river crosses the China-India line of actual control to enter northern Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as the Dihang (or Siang) River, and turns more southerly. The Yarlung Tsangpo leaves
380-407: A diversion of the channel into the existing floodplain channel. The Brahmaputra channel is governed by the peak and low flow periods during which its bed undergoes tremendous modification. The Brahmaputra's bank line migration is inconsistent with time. The Brahmaputra river bed has widened significantly since 1916 and appears to be shifting more towards the south than towards the north. Together with
475-472: A fertility rite of the primitive tribal people who held the "mother principal as the procreative power of nature". The temple is carved entirely out of stone, a type of temple known as Asmamayai . Iron dowels discovered in the ruins of the stone temple resembles the ones found in the Tamreswari temple of Sadiya, showing that it was probably built by the same people. Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra
570-599: A period when the Prakrit was at the cusp of differentiating into regional languages. The spirit and expressiveness of the Charyadas are today found in the folk songs called Deh-Bicarar Git . In the 12th-14th century works of Ramai Pundit ( Sunya Puran ), Boru Chandidas ( Krishna Kirtan ), Sukur Mamud ( Gopichandrar Gan ), Durllava Mullik ( Gobindachandrar Git ) and Bhavani Das ( Mainamatir Gan ) Assamese grammatical peculiarities coexist with features from Bengali language . Though
665-465: A slightly different set of "schwa deletion" rules for its modern standard and early varieties. In the modern standard / ɔ / is generally deleted in the final position unless it is (1) /w/ ( ৱ ); or (2) /j/ ( য় ) after higher vowels like /i/ ( ই ) or /u/ ( উ ); though there are a few additional exceptions. The rule for deleting the final / ɔ / was not followed in Early Assamese . The initial / ɔ /
760-420: A vowel length distinction, but have a wide set of back rounded vowels . In the case of Assamese, there are four back rounded vowels that contrast phonemically, as demonstrated by the minimal set: কলা kola [kɔla] ('deaf'), ক'লা kóla [kola] ('black'), কোলা kwla [kʊla] ('lap'), and কুলা kula [kula] ('winnowing fan'). The near-close near-back rounded vowel /ʊ/ is unique in this branch of
855-750: Is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China , Northeastern India , and Bangladesh . It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese , Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan , the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali , and Jamuna River in Bengali . By itself, it is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest . It originates in the Manasarovar Lake region, near Mount Kailash , on
950-612: Is a classic example of a braided river and is highly susceptible to channel migration and avulsion . It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibits a tidal bore . It is navigable for most of its length. The Brahmaputra drains the Himalayas east of the Indo-Nepal border, south-central portion of the Tibetan plateau above the Ganga basin, south-eastern portion of Tibet, the Patkai hills,
1045-611: Is a natural phenomenon which is ecologically important because it helps maintain the lowland grasslands and associated wildlife. Periodic floods also deposit fresh alluvium, replenishing the fertile soil of the Brahmaputra River Valley. Thus flooding, agriculture, and agricultural practices are closely connected. The effects of flooding can be devastating and cause significant damage to crops and houses, serious bank erosive with consequent loss of homesteads, school and land, and loss of many lives, livestock, and fisheries. During
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#17328586492931140-528: Is a neutral blend of the eastern variety without its distinctive features. This core is further embellished with Goalpariya and Kamrupi idioms and forms. Assamese is native to Assam . It is also spoken in states of Arunachal Pradesh , Meghalaya and Nagaland . The Assamese script can be found in of present-day Burma . The Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal also has inscriptions in Assamese showing its influence in
1235-639: Is also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra and red river of India (when referring to the whole river including the stretch within the Tibet Autonomous Region ). In its Tibetan and Indian names, the river is unusually masculine in gender. The upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River, known as the Yarlung Tsangpo from the Tibetan language, originates on the Angsi Glacier , near Mount Kailash, located on
1330-718: Is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam , where it is an official language. It serves as a lingua franca in parts of the Northeast India from a long time, in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland of India the Assamese language developed as a creole and pidgin language known as Nefamese and Nagamese creole which has become a lingua franca in Nagaland. It has over 15 million native speakers according to Ethnologue . Nefamese , an Assamese-based pidgin in Arunachal Pradesh ,
1425-442: Is called Brahmaputra and Doima (mother of water) and Burlung-Buthur by native Bodo tribals, it then enters the state of Assam , and becomes very wide—as wide as 20 km (12 mi) in parts of Assam. The reason for such an unusual course and drastic change is that the river is antecedent to the Himalayas, meaning that it had existed before them and has entrenched itself since they started rising. The Dihang, winding out of
1520-525: Is crucial in planning upstream engineering to prevent flooding on the bridge. China had built the Zangmu Dam in the upper course of the Brahmaputra River in the Tibet region and it was operationalised on 13 October 2015. The main tributaries from the mouth: tributary tributary (km) (km ) (m /s) ( Sunkosh ) ( Bhareli ) ( Siyom ) (Matsang Tsangpo) Period: 1971–2000 The Kachari group called
1615-626: Is generally assumed—which suggests that when the Indo-Aryan centers formed in the 4th–5th centuries CE, there were substantial Austroasiatic speakers that later accepted the Indo-Aryan vernacular . Based on the 7th-century Chinese traveller Xuanzang 's observations, Chatterji (1926) suggests that the Indo-Aryan vernacular differentiated itself in Kamarupa before it did in Bengal, and that these differences could be attributed to non-Indo-Aryan speakers adopting
1710-661: Is never deleted. Modern Assamese uses the Assamese script . In medieval times, the script came in three varieties: Bamuniya , Garhgaya , and Kaitheli/Lakhari , which developed from the Kamarupi script . It very closely resembles the Mithilakshar script of the Maithili language , as well as the Bengali script . There is a strong literary tradition from early times. Examples can be seen in edicts, land grants and copper plates of medieval kings. Assam had its own manuscript writing system on
1805-692: Is often called the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river. The lower reaches are sacred to Hindus . While most rivers on the Indian subcontinent have female names, this river has a rare male name. Brahmaputra means "son of Brahma " in Sanskrit . It is known by various names in different regional languages: Brôhmôputrô in Assamese ; Tibetan : ཡར་ཀླུངས་གཙང་པོ་ , Wylie : yar klung gtsang po Yarlung Tsangpo ; simplified Chinese : 布拉马普特拉河 ; traditional Chinese : 布拉馬普特拉河 ; pinyin : Bùlāmǎpǔtèlā Hé . It
1900-520: Is significantly influenced by the melting of snow in the upper part of its catchment area. This increase in river flow, caused by the substantial retreat of snow, leads to a higher downstream discharge. Such a rise in discharge often results in severe catastrophic issues, including flooding and erosion. The Brahmaputra River is characterized by its significant rates of sediment discharge, the large and variable flows, along with its rapid channel aggradations and accelerated rates of basin denudation. Over time,
1995-418: Is situated on a hill that rises to a height of 21 metres (69 ft), which affords a commanding view of the plains around it and of the Brahmaputra River . A legend was implanted around the site by Srimanta Sankardev in the 16th century, connecting the place to the mythological king of Bhishmaka (Lord of Vidarbha ) of the epics. The association of the legend with the place led to a widespread renaming of
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#17328586492932090-533: Is the closely related group of eastern dialects of Bengali (although a contrast with dental stops remains in those dialects). / r / is normally realised as [ ɹ ] or [ ɻ ] . Assamese is unusual among Eastern Indo-Aryan languages for the presence of /x/ (realised as [ x ] or [ χ ] , depending on the speaker and speech register), due historically to the MIA sibilants' lenition to /x/ (initially) and /h/ (non-initially). The use of
2185-459: Is unique in the group of Indo-Aryan languages as it lacks a dental-retroflex distinction among the coronal stops as well as the lack of postalveolar affricates and fricatives. Historically, the dental and retroflex series merged into alveolar stops . This makes Assamese resemble non-Indic languages of Northeast India (such as Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages ). The only other language to have fronted retroflex stops into alveolars
2280-1048: The Arabic script by Assamese Muslims . One example is Tariqul Haq Fi Bayane Nurul Haq by Zulqad Ali (1796–1891) of Sivasagar , which is one of the oldest works in modern Assamese prose. In the early 1970s, it was agreed upon that the Roman script was to be the standard writing system for Nagamese Creole . The following is a sample text in Assamese of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights : Assamese in Assamese alphabet Assamese in WRA Romanisation Assamese in SRA Romanisation Assamese in Common Romanisation Assamese in IAST Romanisation Assamese in
2375-531: The Assamese alphabet , an abugida system, from left to right, with many typographic ligatures . Assamese was designated as a classical Indian language by the Government of India on 3 October 2024 on account of its antiquity and literary traditions. Assamese originated in Old Indo-Aryan dialects, though the exact nature of its origin and growth is not clear yet. It is generally believed that Assamese and
2470-702: The Holocene . One idea about the most recent avulsion is that the change in the course of the main waters of the Brahmaputra took place suddenly in 1787, the year of the heavy flooding of the river Tista. In the middle of the 18th century, at least three fair-sized streams flowed between the Rajshahi and Dhaka Divisions, viz., the Daokoba, a branch of the Tista, the Monash or Konai, and
2565-509: The International Phonetic Alphabet Gloss Translation The Assamese language has the following characteristic morphological features: Verbs in Assamese are negated by adding /n/ before the verb, with /n/ picking up the initial vowel of the verb. For example: Assamese has a large collection of classifiers , which are used extensively for different kinds of objects, acquired from
2660-509: The Jamalpur and Mymensingh districts. In an 8.8 magnitude earthquake on 2 April 1762 , however, the main channel of the Brahmaputra at Bhahadurabad point was switched southwards and opened as Jamuna due to the result of tectonic uplift of the Madhupur tract . Rising temperatures significantly contribute to snow melting in the upper Brahmaputra catchment. The discharge of the Brahmaputra River
2755-629: The Kamatapuri lects derive from the Kamarupi dialect of Eastern Magadhi Prakrit though some authors contest a close connection of Assamese with Magadhi Prakrit. The Indo-Aryan, which appeared in the 4th–5th century in Assam, was probably spoken in the new settlements of Kamarupa —in urban centers and along the Brahmaputra river—surrounded by Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic communities. Kakati's (1941) assertion that Assamese has an Austroasiatic substrate
2850-473: The velar nasal (the English ng in sing ) extensively. While in many languages, the velar nasal is commonly restricted to preceding velar sounds, in Assamese it can occur intervocalically. This is another feature it shares with other languages of Northeast India , though in Assamese the velar nasal never occurs word-initially. Eastern Indic languages like Assamese, Bengali, Sylheti , and Odia do not have
2945-631: The 15th and subsequent centuries. In these writings the 13th/14th-century archaic forms are no longer found. Sankardev pioneered a prose-style of writing in the Ankia Naat . This was further developed by Bhattadeva who translated the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita into Assamese prose. Bhattadev's prose was classical and restrained, with a high usage of Sanskrit forms and expressions in an Assamese syntax; and though subsequent authors tried to follow this style, it soon fell into disuse. In this writing
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3040-445: The 1998 flood, over 70% of the land area of Bangladesh was inundated, affecting 31 million people and 1 million homesteads. In the 1998 flood which had an unusually long duration from July to September, claimed 918 human lives and was responsible for damaging 1,600 km (990 mi) of roads and 6,000 km (3,700 mi) embankments, and affecting 6,000 km (2,300 sq mi) of standing crops. The 2004 floods, over 25% of
3135-618: The Bay of Bengal through the Meghna estuary and lesser channels flowing through the delta. The growth of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta is dominated by tidal processes. The Ganga Delta , fed by the waters of numerous rivers, including the Ganga and Brahmaputra, is 105,000 km (41,000 sq mi), one of the largest river deltas in the world. The Ganges – Brahmaputra – Meghna system has
3230-621: The Bay of Bengal. This final part of the river is called Meghna. The Brahmaputra enters the plains of Bangladesh after turning south around the Garo Hills below Dhuburi, India. After flowing past Chilmari, Bangladesh, it is joined on its right bank by the Tista River and then follows a 240 km (150 mi) course due south as the Jamuna River. (South of Gaibanda, the Old Brahmaputra leaves
3325-744: The Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna (not to be confused with the Yamuna of India). In the vast Ganges Delta , it merges with the Ganges , popularly known as the Padma in Bangladesh, and becomes the Meghna and ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal . At 3,000 km (1,900 mi) long, the Brahmaputra is an important river for irrigation and transportation in
3420-455: The Brahmaputra at Pandu was 72,726 m /s (2,568,300 cu ft/s) August 1962 while the lowest was 1,757 m /s (62,000 cu ft/s) in February 1968. The increased rates of snow and glacial melt are likely to increase summer flows in some river systems for a few decades, followed by a reduction in flow as the glaciers disappear and snowfall diminishes. This is particularly true for
3515-455: The Buranjis is nearly modern with some minor differences in grammar and with a pre-modern orthography. The Assamese plural suffixes ( -bor , -hat ) and the conjunctive participles ( -gai : dharile-gai ; -hi : pale-hi , baril-hi ) become well established. The Buranjis, dealing with statecraft, was also the vehicle by which Arabic and Persian elements crept into the language in abundance. Due to
3610-601: The Daokoba, which was showing an equally rapid tendency to cut towards the east. The junction of these rivers gave the Brahmaputra a course worthy of her immense power, and the rivers to right and left silted up. In Renault's Altas they very much resemble the rivers of Jessore, which dried up after the hundred-mouthed Ganga had cut her new channel to join the Meghna at the south of the Munshiganj subdivision. Assamese language Assamese ( / ˌ æ s ə ˈ m iː z / ) or Asamiya ( অসমীয়া [ɔxɔmija] )
3705-470: The EIC officials in an intense debate in the 1850s to reinstate Assamese. Among the local personalities Anandaram Dhekial Phukan drew up an extensive catalogue of medieval Assamese literature (among other works) and pioneered the effort among the natives to reinstate Assamese in Assam. Though this effort was not immediately successful the administration eventually declared Assamese the official vernacular in 1873 on
3800-569: The Gauda-Kamarupa stage is generally accepted and partially supported by recent linguistic research, it has not been fully reconstructed. A distinctly Assamese literary form appeared first in the 13th-century in the courts of the Kamata kingdom when Hema Sarasvati composed the poem Prahlāda Carita . In the 14th-century, Madhava Kandali translated the Ramayana into Assamese ( Saptakanda Ramayana ) in
3895-635: The Himalayas to the south and the Kailas Range to the north. In Tibet, the Tsangpo receives a number of tributaries. The most important left-bank tributaries are the Raka Zangbo (Raka Tsangpo), which joins the river west of Xigazê (Shigatse), and the Lhasa (Kyi), which flows past the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and joins the Tsangpo at Qüxü . The Nyang River joins the Tsangpo from the north at Zela (Tsela Dzong). On
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3990-662: The Salangi. The Lahajang and the Elengjany were also important rivers. In Renault's time, the Brahmaputra as a first step towards securing a more direct course to the sea by leaving the Mahdupur Jungle to the east began to send a considerable volume of water down the Jinai or Jabuna from Jamalpur into the Monash and Salangi. These rivers gradually coalesced and kept shifting to the west till they met
4085-485: The adjacent floodplain. Lastly, flood basins are often formed between the levees of adjacent rivers. During the monsoon season (June–October), floods are a very common occurrence. Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life, and property. Periodic flooding
4180-411: The ancient pilgrimage centre of Hajo , the Brahmaputra cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau , and is at its narrowest at 1 km (1,100 yd) bank-to-bank. The terrain of this area made it logistically ideal for the Battle of Saraighat , the military confrontation between the Mughal Empire and the Ahom Kingdom in March 1671. The first combined railroad/roadway bridge across the Brahmaputra
4275-415: The bark of the saanchi tree in which religious texts and chronicles were written, as opposed to the pan-Indian system of Palm leaf manuscript writing. The present-day spellings in Assamese are not necessarily phonetic. Hemkosh ( হেমকোষ [ɦɛmkʊx] ), the second Assamese dictionary, introduced spellings based on Sanskrit , which are now the standard. Assamese has also historically been written using
4370-445: The capital of Bangladesh, and joins the Meghna River above Munshiganj. The Jamuna joins with the Ganga north of Goalundo Ghat, below which, as the Padma, their combined waters flow to the southeast for a distance of about 120 km (75 mi). After several smaller channels branch off to feed the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta to the south, the main body of the Padma reaches its confluence with the Meghna River near Chandpur and then enters
4465-594: The construction of Brahmaputra Express Highways. The course of the Brahmaputra River has changed dramatically over the past 250 years, with evidence of large-scale avulsion, in the period 1776–1850, of 80 km (50 mi) from east of the Madhupur tract to the west of it. Prior to 1843, the Brahmaputra flowed within the channel now termed the "Old Brahmaputra" . The banks of the river are mostly weakly cohesive sand and silts, which usually erodes through large scale slab failure, where previously deposited materials undergo scour and bank erosion during flood periods. Presently,
4560-444: The contemporary slow migration of the river, the left bank is being eroded away faster than the right bank. The Brahmaputra River experiences high levels of bank erosion (usually via slab failure) and channel migration caused by its strong current, lack of riverbank vegetation, and loose sand and silt which compose its banks. It is thus difficult to build permanent structures on the river, and protective structures designed to limit
4655-629: The court of Mahamanikya , a Kachari king from central Assam. Though the Assamese idiom in these works is fully individualised, some archaic forms and conjunctive particles too are found. This period corresponds to the common stage of proto-Kamta and early Assamese. The emergence of Sankardev 's Ekasarana Dharma in the 15th century triggered a revival in language and literature . Sankardev produced many translated works and created new literary forms— Borgeets (songs), Ankia Naat (one-act plays)—infusing them with Brajavali idioms; and these were sustained by his followers Madhavdev and others in
4750-414: The deepening of the Bengal Basin caused by erosion will result in the increase in hydraulic radius, and hence allowing for the huge accumulation of sediments fed from the Himalayan erosion by efficient sediment transportation. The thickness of the sediment accumulated above the Precambrian basement has increased over the years from a few hundred meters to over 18 km (11 mi) in the Bengal fore-deep to
4845-476: The development of Bengali to replace Persian, the language of administration in Mughal India, and maintained that Assamese was a dialect of Bengali. Amidst this loss of status the American Baptist Mission (ABM) established a press in Sibsagar in 1846 leading to publications of an Assamese periodical ( Orunodoi ), the first Assamese grammar by Nathan Brown (1846), and the first Assamese-English dictionary by Miles Bronson (1863). The ABM argued strongly with
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#17328586492934940-471: The dry season when water availability is crucial for the irrigation systems. The course of the Brahmaputra River has changed drastically in the past two and a half centuries, moving its river course westwards for a distance of about 80 km (50 mi), leaving its old river course, appropriately named the old Brahmaputra river, behind. In the past, the floodplain of the old river course had soils which were more properly formed compared to graded sediments on
5035-401: The emergence of different styles of secular prose in medicine, astrology, arithmetic, dance, music, besides religious biographies and the archaic prose of magical charms. Most importantly this was also when Assamese developed a standardised prose in the Buranjis —documents related to the Ahom state dealing with diplomatic writings, administrative records and general history. The language of
5130-431: The end of those negotiations was a standard close to the language of the Buranjis with the Sanskritised orthography of Hemchandra Barua. As the political and commercial center moved to Guwahati in the mid-twentieth century, of which Dispur the capital of Assam is a suburb and which is situated at the border between the western and central dialect speaking regions, standard Assamese used in media and communications today
5225-404: The eve of Assam becoming a Chief Commissioner's Province in 1874. In the extant medieval Assamese manuscripts the orthography was not uniform. The ABM had evolved a phonemic orthography based on a contracted set of characters. Working independently Hemchandra Barua provided an etymological orthography and his etymological dictionary, Hemkosh , was published posthumously. He also provided
5320-425: The first person future tense ending -m ( korim : "will do"; kham : "will eat") is seen for the first time. The language moved to the court of the Ahom kingdom in the seventeenth century, where it became the state language. In parallel, the proselytising Ekasarana dharma converted many Bodo-Kachari peoples and there emerged many new Assamese speakers who were speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages. This period saw
5415-403: The flood problem remains unsolved. At least a third of the land of Majuli Island has been eroded by the river. Recently, it is suggested that a highway protected by concrete mat along the river bank and excavation of the river bed can curb this menace. This project, named the Brahmaputra River Restoration Project, is yet to be implemented by the government. Recently the Central Government approved
5510-434: The four corners of the ruins of the temple. Among the sculptures found at Malinthan, five notable ones carved out of granite stone are of Indra riding his mount Airavata , Kartikeya riding a peacock, Surya (Sun) riding a chariot, and Ganesha mounted over a mouse and a large Nandi bull . On the basis of the erotic Maithuna sculptures found here in different postures, it is believed that tantricism prevailed here as
5605-633: The influence of the Ahom state the speech in eastern Assam took a homogeneous and standard form. The general schwa deletion that occurs in the final position of words came into use in this period. The modern period of Assamese begins with printing—the publication of the Assamese Bible in 1813 from the Serampore Mission Press . But after the British East India Company (EIC) removed the Burmese in 1826 and took complete administrative control of Assam in 1836, it filled administrative positions with people from Bengal, and introduced Bengali language in its offices, schools and courts. The EIC had earlier promoted
5700-549: The language family. But in lower Assam, ও is pronounced the same as অ' (ó): compare কোলা kwla [kóla] and মোৰ mwr [mór] . Assamese has vowel harmony . The vowels [i] and [u] cause the preceding mid vowels and the high back vowels to change to [e] and [o] and [u] respectively. Assamese is one of the few languages spoken in India which exhibit a systematic process of vowel harmony. The inherent vowel in standard Assamese, / ɔ /, follows deletion rules analogous to " schwa deletion " in other Indian languages. Assamese follows
5795-421: The language. The newly differentiated vernacular, from which Assamese eventually emerged, is evident in the Prakritisms present in the Sanskrit of the Kamarupa inscriptions . The earliest forms of Assamese in literature are found in the 9th-century Buddhist verses called Charyapada the language of which bear affinities with Assamese (as well as Bengali, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Odia) and which belongs to
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#17328586492935890-421: The left bank of the mainstream and flows past Jamalpur and Mymensingh to join the Meghna River at Bhairab Bazar.) Before its confluence with the Ganga, the Jamuna receives the combined waters of the Baral , Atrai , and Hurasagar Rivers on its right bank and becomes the point of departure of the large Dhaleswari River on its left bank. A tributary of the Dhaleswari, the Buriganga ("Old Ganga"), flows past Dhaka,
5985-399: The levee top and the surrounding floodplains is typically 1 m (3 ft) along small channels and 2–3 m (7–10 ft) along major channels. Crevasse splay, a sedimentary fluvial deposit which forms when a stream breaks its natural or artificial levees and deposits sediment on a floodplain, are often formed due to a breach in the levee, forming a lobe of sediments which progrades onto
6080-400: The majority of the river's flow, continues due south as the Jamuna ( Jomuna ) to merge with the lower Ganga, called the Padma River ( Pôdma ). The eastern branch, formerly the larger, but now much smaller, is called the lower or Old Brahmaputra ( Brommoputro ). It curves southeast to join the Meghna River near Dhaka . The Padma and Meghna converge near Chandpur and flow out into
6175-510: The mountains, and one in late summer caused by runoff from monsoon rains. The river flow is strongly influenced by snow and ice melting of the glaciers, which are located mainly on the eastern Himalaya regions in the upstream parts of the basin. The snow and glacier melt contribution to the total annual runoff is about 27%, while the annual rainfall contributes to about 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) and 22,000 m /s (780,000 cu ft/s) of discharge. The highest recorded daily discharge in
6270-423: The mountains, turns towards the southeast and descends into a low-lying basin as it enters northeastern Assam state. Just west of the town of Sadiya, the river again turns to the southwest and is joined by two mountain streams, the Lohit, and the Dibang. Below that confluence, about 1,450 km (900 mi) from the Bay of Bengal, the river becomes known conventionally as the Brahmaputra ("Son of Brahma"). In Assam,
6365-402: The northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of Tibet where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River . The Brahmaputra flows along southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges (including the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon ) and into Arunachal Pradesh. It enters India near the village of Gelling in Arunachal Pradesh and flows southwest through the Assam Valley as
6460-406: The northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of Tibet . The source of the river was earlier thought to be on the Chemayungdung glacier, which covers the slopes of the Himalayas about 60 mi (97 km) southeast of Lake Manasarovar in southwestern Tibet. From its source, the river runs for nearly 1,100 km (680 mi) in a generally easterly direction between the main range of
6555-438: The northern slopes of the Meghalaya hills, the Assam plains, and northern Bangladesh. The basin, especially south of Tibet, is characterized by high levels of rainfall. Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) is the only peak above 8,000 m and hence is the highest point within the Brahmaputra basin. The Brahmaputra's upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was only established by exploration in 1884–86. The river
6650-409: The only bridge to span the river's major distributary, the Jamuna , was thus opened in June 1998. Constructed at a narrow braid belt of the river, it is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long with a platform 18.5 m (61 ft) wide, and it is used to carry railroad traffic as well as gas, power and telecommunication lines. Due to the variable nature of the river, the prediction of the river's future course
6745-534: The operating Jamuna river. This change of river course resulted in modifications to the soil-forming process, which include acidification, the breakdown of clays and buildup of organic matter, with the soils showing an increasing amount of biotic homogenization, mottling, the coating around Peds and maturing soil arrangement, shape and pattern. In the future, the consequences of local ground subsidence coupled with flood prevention propositions, for instance, localised breakwaters, that increase flood-plain water depths outside
6840-615: The part of Tibet to enter Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh , where the river is called Siang. It makes a very rapid descent from its original height in Tibet and finally appears in the plains, where it is called Dihang. It flows for about 35 km (22 mi) southward after which, it is joined by the Dibang River and the Lohit River at the head of the Assam Valley. Below the Lohit, the river
6935-456: The past, it was the court language of the Ahom kingdom from the 17th century. Along with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages , Assamese evolved at least before the 7th century CE from the middle Indo-Aryan Magadhi Prakrit . Its sister languages include Angika , Bengali , Bishnupriya Manipuri , Chakma , Chittagonian , Hajong , Rajbangsi , Maithili , Rohingya and Sylheti . It is written in
7030-474: The past. There is a significant Assamese-speaking diaspora worldwide. Assamese is the official language of Assam, and one of the 22 official languages recognised by the Republic of India . The Assam Secretariat functions in Assamese. The Assamese phonemic inventory consists of eight vowels , ten diphthongs , and twenty-three consonants (including two semivowels ). The Assamese phoneme inventory
7125-657: The plateau to the south are the Burhi Dihing, the Disang, the Dikhu, and the Kopili. Between Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur Districts , the river divides into two channels—the northern Kherkutia channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about 100 km (62 mi) downstream, forming the Majuli island, which is the largest river island in the world. At Guwahati , near
7220-511: The population of Bangladesh or 36 million people, were affected by the floods; 800 people died; 952 000 houses were destroyed and 1.4 million were badly damaged; 24 000 educational institutions were affected including the destruction of 1200 primary schools, 2 million governments and private tube wells were affected, over 3 million latrines were damaged or washed away, this increases the risks of waterborne diseases including diarrhea and cholera. Also, 1.1 million ha (2.7 million acres) of
7315-455: The region. The average depth of the river is 30 m (100 ft) and its maximum depth is 135 m (440 ft) (at Sadiya ). The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in the spring when the Himalayan snow melts. The average discharge of the Brahmaputra is about ~22,000 m /s (780,000 cu ft/s), and floods reach about 103,000 m /s (3,600,000 cu ft/s). It
7410-536: The region. As per the mythology constructed, when Krishna wanted to marry Rukmini , the daughter of King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha, he abducted her prior to her wedding with Shishupala . Krishna and Rukmini then travelled from Bhishmakanagar to Dwarka , stopping at Malinithan on the way over, where they were guests of Shiva and Durga , who were doing penance. Parvati , Shiva's consort, warmly welcoming her guests, presented them with garlands made of flowers plucked from her orchard. From all archaeological evidences at
7505-490: The rice crop was submerged and lost before it could be harvested, with 7% of the yearly aus (early season) rice crop lost; 270,000 ha (670,000 acres) of grazing land was affected, 5600 livestock perished together with 254 00 poultry and 63 million tonnes (69 million short tons) of lost fish production. Flood-control measures are taken by the water resource department and the Brahmaputra Board, but until now
7600-459: The right bank, a second river called the Nyang Qu (Nyang Chu) meets the Tsangpo at Xigazê. After passing Pi (Pe) in Tibet, the river turns suddenly to the north and northeast and cuts a course through a succession of great narrow gorges between the mountainous massifs of Gyala Peri and Namcha Barwa in a series of rapids and cascades. Thereafter, the river turns south and southwest and flows through
7695-399: The river "Dilao", "Tilao". Early Greek accounts of Curtius and Strabo give its name as Dyardanes ( Ancient greek Δυαρδάνης) and Oidanes. In the past, the course of the lower Brahmaputra was different and passed through the Jamalpur and Mymensingh districts. Some water still flows through that course, now called the Old Brahmaputra, as a distributary of the main channel. A question about
7790-463: The river is mighty, even in the dry season, and during the rains, its banks are more than 8 km (5.0 mi) apart. As the river follows its braided 700 km (430 mi) course through the valley, it receives several rapidly flowing Himalayan streams, including the Subansiri, Kameng, Bhareli, Dhansiri, Manas, Champamati, Saralbhanga, and Sankosh Rivers. The main tributaries from the hills and from
7885-530: The river system in Bangladesh is when and why the Brahmaputra changed its main course, at the site of the Jamuna and the "Old Brahmaputra" fork that can be seen by comparing modern maps to historic maps before the 1800s. The Brahmaputra likely flowed directly south along its present main channel for much of the time since the last glacial maximum , switching back and forth between the two courses several times throughout
7980-449: The river's erosion rate has decreased to 30 m (98 ft) per year as compared to 150 m (490 ft) per year from 1973 to 1992. This erosion has, however, destroyed so much land that it has caused 0.7 million people to become homeless due to loss of land. Several studies have discussed the reasons for the avulsion of the river into its present course, and have suggested a number of reasons including tectonic activity, switches in
8075-482: The river's erosional effects often face numerous issues during and after construction. In fact, a 2004 report by the Bangladesh Disaster and Emergency Sub-Group (BDER) has stated that several of such protective systems have 'just failed'. However, some progress has been made in the form of construction works which stabilize sections of the river, albeit with the need for heavy maintenance. The Bangabandhu Bridge ,
8170-620: The ruined temple. The worship of the goddess Kechaikheiti even after coming under Hindu influence was performed according to her old tribal customs. The goddess was taken care of by tribal priest known as the Deoris and was worshipped by the Borgoya khel of the Deoris. There were four different kinds of Deori priest who looked after the deity Kechaikhati. The Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali collected dues of
8265-406: The second-greatest average discharge of the world's rivers—roughly ~44,000 m /s (1,600,000 cu ft/s), and the river Brahmaputra alone supplies about 50% of the total discharge. The rivers' combined suspended sediment load of about 1.87 billion tonnes (1.84 billion tons) per year is the world's highest. In the past, the lower course of the Brahmaputra was different and passed through
8360-583: The site, archaeologists have opined that the temple belonged to the 13th century. Stonemason marks found in Malinithan were also found in other sites of Sadiya like Tamreswari temple , Bura-buri, Padum pukhuri as well as other places like Nakshaparbat and Buroi. The archaeological excavations revealed a very well designed and carved plinth of a temple, 8 feet (2.4 m) high, with sculptures of deities and animals, designs of flowers, damaged columns and panels. Four sculptures of lions on two elephants were found at
8455-559: The south. The ongoing subsidence of the Bengal Basin and the high rate of Himalayan uplift continues to contribute to the large water and sediment discharges of fine sand and silt, with 1% clay, in the Brahmaputra River. Climatic change plays a crucial role in affecting the basin hydrology. Throughout the year, there is a significant rise in hydrograph, with a broad peak between July and September. The Brahmaputra River experiences two high-water seasons, one in early summer caused by snowmelt in
8550-676: The temple and provides animals for sacrifice. The Bar Deori (Deori Dema) and the Saru Deori (Deori Surba) performs the sacrifice and sung hymns. Some scholars identify Kesaikhaiti to the Tai Khamti female deity of Nang Hoo Toungh . The Malinithan archaeological site is located at the base of the Siang mountains in the Likabali town and a sub-division of the Lower Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It
8645-457: The upstream course of the Teesta River, the influence of increased discharge, catastrophic floods and river capture into an old river course. From an analysis of maps of the river between 1776 and 1843, it was concluded in a study that the river avulsion was more likely gradual than catastrophic and sudden, and may have been generated by bank erosion, perhaps around a large mid-channel bar, causing
8740-411: The voiceless velar fricative is heavy in the eastern Assamese dialects and decreases progressively to the west—from Kamrupi to eastern Goalparia , and disappears completely in western Goalpariya. The change of /s/ to /h/ and then to /x/ has been attributed to Tibeto-Burman influence by Suniti Kumar Chatterjee . Assamese, Odia , and Bengali , in contrast to other Indo-Aryan languages , use
8835-441: The water breakers, may alter the water levels of the floodplains. Throughout the years, bars, scroll bars, and sand dunes are formed at the edge of the flood plain by deposition. The height difference of the channel topography is often not more than 1–2 m (3–7 ft). Furthermore, flooding over the history of the river has caused the formation of river levees due to deposition from the overbank flow. The height difference between
8930-595: Was constructed at Saraighat . It was opened to traffic in April 1962. The environment of the Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam have been described as the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests ecoregion . In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra is joined by the Teesta River (or Tista), one of its largest tributaries. Below the Tista, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributary branches. The western branch, which contains
9025-554: Was used as the lingua franca till it was replaced by Hindi ; and Nagamese , an Assamese-based Creole language , continues to be widely used in Nagaland . The Kamtapuri language of Rangpur division of Bangladesh and the Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts of India is linguistically closer to Assamese, though the speakers identify with the Bengali culture and the literary language. In
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